Sterilizing-cabinet.



O. A. HGLLIS.

STERILIZING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4. 1914.

2 sH -sHEET 1.

` WITNESSES. A I El INVENTOR: 3f E .Z

@Cdr

0. A. HOLLIS.

STERILIZING CABINET.

APPLYlcATloN man APR. 4. m4.

1 ,223,490. Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

` n u a n sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. l oTIs A. HOLLIS, or PITTSBURGH, PENNsYLvAIvIm AssIeNon To IIoLLIs sTnnILIzING EQUIPMENTy coivnuiivr,y or zerrTsisunen, PENNSYLVANIA, .A` vcoIueoIuiTroiv or DELAWARE. .l

To all whom t may concer/n:

Be it known thatl, OTIs .lA.jll oLLIs,"a citizen of the United States, residing'. lat

Pittsburgh, in the State of Pennsylvania, haver invented` a certain new and useful Sterilizing-Cabinet, of which the following is a vspecicaticn.

My invention relates to av container ,for` instruments which lhave to be sterilized, or disinfected, after use, and myprincipal ob-ik jectis'to provide such apparatus in a form.

which` will beperfectly' sanitary and con` venient, and which will allowlobser'vation of the articlesinside the cabinetas well as the --process of sterilization without opening ,any doors.

These and other objects are accomplished by means of a cabinet` built according to this specification.

Figure 1y is a I vice j Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section through the cabinet on the lines A, A, of-

Fi'g.jf1;` Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the line B, B, ofy Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view; Fig. 5 is a perspective of.v the glass plate 13 showing grooves and'wicks'g andFig. 6 shows details lof means for cir-` culating air.

In the case of s upon the human body, such for instance as surgical appliances, barbers tools, etc., a due regard for sanitation requires that all such instruments be thoroughly sterilized, or disinfected, before being used upon another human being, in order to prevent contagion. There are a great many instruments which kcan not be boiled and which it out. Consequentlyythere is no necessity for opening the door r of the cabinet kfor more than an instant at anyl time. Also the ruse of glass doors and panels enables' the person upon whom the instruments are to be used to see that they are in fact `befront :elevation of de` the use of. *instrumentsl sTERILIzING-GABINET.

Specification of Letters atent. lPradgnggll Apr, 24, 1917. Application ined Aprii 4, 1914. serial No. saasas. i

ing sterilized. This construction also enables the distribution of the sterilizing agentfto be observed and adjusted by 0bservation fromrk the outside ofthe cabinet. til-assis one of the most sanitary materials ofawhich a container can be made, and my cabinet is` designed throughout sothat there are no joints .orcracks which 'may not be shown in Fig. 4. Beneaththek top l2is a second glass plate 13 of similar shape,

yhaving grooves 14 downthe ridges formed aty the; junctions of the four surfaces. The

point 15 in the glass plate 13 is situated exactly under the outlet from reservoir 10.

f This point is constructed so as to divide a drop of liquid striking its apex, rand distribute it partly 'down each of the grooves 14. Therefore there will be a flow of liquid down each of the grooves 14 to the corners vof the cabinet. Extendingy from the end of thev grooves at each'corner of the cabinet, downward to the bottom thereof, are fabric wicks 16. Thus the disinfecting liquid drops from the reservoir 10, flows down the groove 14 and is taken up by the wicks 16 and carried by capillary attraction throughout theirv entire length. From the surfaces of the wicks thea liquid evaporates, and so saturates the air inside the cabinet with 'its disinfectingvapor. The front of the cabinet consists of a rglass door 17, with a klatch 18, and hinges 19; shelves 20, being perforated glass plates, raised on brackets 21 which are bolted in above the angle irons yf2?. whichretain the wall plates of the cabinet. `I ,may make any number and yvariety of smaller compartments by sub-partitions such as 23, 24, 25, etc. These would be for the purpose of holding razors or other small instruments.

`A volatile liquid may be chosen as the disinfectant, and would properly diffuse itself in the form ofvapor throughout the cabinet. But in order vto insure uniform distribution', I provide at the bottom of my cabinet a roller 30 'which has a fan attachment E. lThis roller has inside-it a spring S. A tape or stringy TJ is attachedto this roller with a handle Hat the outside. By

catching the handle and pulling *thevstringg out to its end, the roller is made to operate the fan, and rwhen f theI string is released the spring reverses the roller and winds it up again. Thus by simplypulling lout'alation, and to Vprovide ventilation, I may provide holes in the top .plate ofmy cabinet-,".`aslat(40), (41).

Many advantages and conveniences of this frmfot container will be apparent to thosev fami-liar with suchV devices.

IrIavingT th'usdescribed my invention and illustrated-tits'use; I f claim l. In a cabinet, the combination of av reservoirf at'the;=top, a platefbeneath" said reservoir having grooves therein to distribute a `liquid delivered in single drops from Said reservoir onto said plate, wicks adapted to take up the liquid from the grooves and to expose it to evaporation throughout the cabinet.

2. In a container cabinet, a glass reservoir at the top thereof, means to regulate the flowfof aliquid therefrom to the interior of the cabinet, and vertical wicks whereby to expose the liquidto evaporation through# i out'the cabinet, substantially as described.

3.--A disinfecting cabinet comprising a chamber, a vesselv of liquid disinfectant earried :on top' of the chamber,1means for regulating the l'owout or' the 'containing'chamber and for distributing it to the four cor-` nersfofithe cabinet, and a series oftdownflow' wicks to carry the disinfecting liquid. downthrough -the corners of the cabinet, substantially' as described.

In testimony` whereof I have hereunto signed my name inthe presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

` OTIS A: IIOLDISA Witnesses:

` FrLEDK STADE,

J0. BAILY BROWN. 

